My new favorite quote. (as found at Steady Mom)

"The thing that is really hard,
and really amazing,
is giving up on being perfect
and beginning the work
of becoming yourself."

- Anna Quindlen

Photo Update

Staycation

Well, well, well.  I think that I have concluded, once again, that I am spending too much time frolicking on the internet, playing with my blog friends and inventing ways to kill time on hot summer days, well, perhaps I am inventing ways to avoid things to do on these hot summer days.  Today we went to the Dallas Zoo.  It was a nice, relatively temperate day and it was begging for a day trip.  I rallied the troops and it took us awhile to get out the door.  We headed into Dallas for lunch at a true DIVE in Deep Ellum, totally cool, and then spent a couple of hours at the zoo.  (By the way, if you have AAA, then you get $3 off PER ticket!)  We played in water and talked to birds and monkeys and elephants.  We wandered around until we found my very favorite creature, the giraffe.  Long and lean and lovely and majestic.  The kids all took their turns talking to the animals, one of the favorites had to be the giant turtles.  GIANT.  At the end of this story, I know that I want more of those days.  More fun, more outings, more time exploring with my favorite little people.  We have so much fun together, well, unless we are annoying each other with tasks and such.  

(that's normal though, right?) 

Basically, I am going on "staycation" with my kids and I will document more as the time comes.  We will take pictures and tell stories.  School is starting back sooner than I would like and time is moving much faster these days.  So, enjoy your days, explore your homes and neighborhoods, play with your kids and families and bask in the joy of escape, wherever that may be.

A lot like how I feel today

105 degrees

It actually reached 105 today.  Now, at 6:39 pm it is still 103.  It is not record breaking, which would have to surpass 107, but really close.

In response to this heat, we headed out to a new water park in Rowlett today which boasted of cool water and a fair number of things for the kids to do.  We enjoyed a couple of hours there and then headed home.  On said trip home, Kyra began complaining of stomach pains.  She ended up crying by the time we got home.  And within a hour of being home, she showed the truest sign of inheriting Kierstin's "going bonkers" virus: she threw up.  Now she is sleeping comfortably in a 77 degree living room where you can hear the faint sounds of "I think I can, I think I can" coming from our worn out air conditioner.  

So, we chug along, one sick child today with high temperatures and take solace in popsicles and the knowledge that this virus is only 24 hours.  And then I only have one more child that can get it.  Kaden.  Start your stopwatches now...it's only a matter of time.

There ought to be a law.

There ought to be a law.

I know there should be a law against the Mom getting sick.  I actually feel that sickness altogether should be abolished, but you take the good with the bad RIGHT?!?!

Well, the law didn't apply to me today as I have,

 indeed gotten sick.  As I type this, Kierstin has come in to announce that she needs new panties.  And now she just slipped because her feet are wet.  Why, you ask.  She is not feeling like a big girl today, it seems.  

WhY nOt?

I am sick.  Kimball is sick.  Kierstin is better but difficult with the after-sickness grumpies.  On top of that, Kierstin is unsure about the whole potty training thing, again.  Let's just own up to the fact that she does, indeed,

 get it and that she knows when she needs to go as well as how and where.  She just chooses against it sometimes.  4 times this morning actually.  I don't even have the energy to figure out what to do to help Kierstin figure this one out.  Do I let her keep having accidents until she gets it?  Do I get mad at her?  Punish her?  All I want to do is sleep.  I did get the recommendation from Mom that perhaps a kind of punishment might be in order.  Good mom of the year award should be granted for this one:  I told Kierstin that Grandma said I would have to spank her if she had another :accident:.  She hasn't had one since.  Now, I didn't actually spank her, though I wanted to when she peed on my comforter last night at about 11:45 pm when she was sure that she didn't need to go to bed yet.  She had slept for about a 6 hour nap, so I tried to give her a break...but my blanket?  On my bed?  At bedtime?  It is currently in the dryer for what seems like hours as it is so big and having a hard time drying.  

Oh, and with all of this joy and sunshine, guess where Larry is today.  Can't guess, can you???  

ON a KaYaK in the OcEaN in DeEp CoVe.  

Mom is sure that a whale will eat him if he does it again.  You like him less right now don't you!  (I mean, of course I want him to enjoy but that was on the list of things I wanted to do when we were set to move up there.)

You should also know that Kaden and Kyra are intentionally staying as far away from Kimball and me.  They think it might help them avoid sickness.

She's a big girl now...or so she says.

So, as you can see by the droopy eyes, she doesn't feel great, but boy is she happy. 

Today, she decided to be a big girl.  

We sold her crib to another sweet family today.  We took that money and bought her this Tinkerbell bed.  We had promised her that when she was potty trained, we would get it.  Now, most of you know that she is not effectively potty trained, except that something changed for her today.  When she knew that her baby bed was leaving, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I am a big girl now.  I want panties like Kyra."  And that was it.  She went upstairs, found the pair she wanted, put them on and has not had an accident yet.  (cross your fingers)  Now, this is not a science and in no way do I think that she is trained, but it was a sweet recognition that she is growing up.  She loves the bed, as you can see.  She is still sitting in it now, with babies and Pooh Bears all around.  

2:16 a.m.; 5:09 am

Well, that picture was taken on the 2:16 shift.  It is now 5:09 am and she has a fever.  Yep.  A fever.  She has not thrown up since 2 am, but she also won't drink anything because she says it will "burn".  That does cause problems when you want her to take some kind of medicine for the fever.  So, I am up with her again and I think it is likely official that she has caught something.  Perhaps at Going Bonkers???  Here's hoping for a short sickness, swift recovery and isolated incident.  (Translation: if any of my other children, or Amber's for that matter, get sick from this I am going to be really really mad at whomever got us sick in the first place)

If it's not one thing...

Well, it's another. For the few of you who may not have received the Vancouver update, here it is, the final word, the final final final word:

We are not going.

After much back and forth and debate and prayer and pacing and this and that, we had to face some facts. It became clear to us that we were simply not feeling great about it. The money was the actually the biggest kicker, but lots of things played into the choice. There is great relief mixed with a lingering amount of disappointment, but mostly just relief. So. I worked on this:

This is one of two murals I finished today for my neighbor's son Grant.  He is a big K State fan and HAD to have this on his wall.  It took me a long time to finally get to it, but it turned out great, if I do say so myself.

So, now.  The house is quiet and clean and there is general peace until I lay Kierstin down and she starts throwing up.  I have no idea where this is coming from but she has now thrown up in one form or another 4 times.  Really?  REALLY!

There she is again.  Gotta go take care of the beauty.

Cool Blog Alert

Steady Mom

Every now and then I stumble onto a blog or website that I learn something from.  I learned something simply in the description of her blog :

"on the journey toward intentional, professional motherhood"

I love that.

Update

So.  My Bishop's sage advice was that we shouldn't make any decisions based on the choices of this family that wants to rent our home.  

?!?!?!?!?@@@@@@?!?!?!?!?!?<><><><><>!!!!!

That's what I have to say to that. 

It seems that things may not be as secure as I had thought with this sweet family that wants to rent our home.  What that means tonight is that I don't really feel very secure about our choice to head North.  I do feel really good about facing budget issues and making some resolutions.  I feel good about getting my passport and knowing how to get passports for the children, when the time comes.  I feel really good about getting rid of some things in my home and touching up some paint and giving it a really good cleaning.  I feel awesome about some lovely yard clean-up.  I know a lot more about the Vancouver area than I thought I would need to know.  That falls into the education category for me.  I also feel really good knowing that we are learning to make wise decisions and to attempt to exercise caution when needed.  So, with all of that goodness, I can honestly say that if I get a phone call or email that says that they are not going to rent our home, two things will simultaneously happen: a sense of relief and a genuine lack of surprise.  Relief at not doing the amount of work, of course.  Please know that I really would love to do this and I will be equally excited and relieved if the answer turns out to be yes; relief at getting an answer (in the form of a deposit and proof of employment) and knowing that we will be setting off on a unique family adventure, one that can't be duplicated.  I do know that this poor family must be very stressed and worried and I wish that they did not have to go through that.  Times are tough and I know that work is hard to come by.  I do hope that they get the answers they need, and not simply because I need an answer or an extended vacation to Vancouver, but because the waiting and worrying is so tough to take.

So, tonight, be grateful for work and having a home to call your own.  Other families are struggling with those simple basics.  

Weight loss for dummies

With this much ice cream in my home...

Here's your sign!

(for the record, I didn't buy all of it!) 

We have a decision!

Well, after a great amount of debate and thought and so on and so on...we have decided to pack up and head North for a little while.  We will be in Birch Bay, WA.  There are a great many details still to be worked out, but that decision is made.  I know that there is some controversy about this decision, but we feel it very important to keep our family together.  There will be changes and challenges, but as always, my prayer is that there will be opportunity and reward as well.  We will be back in our home April 1st, 2010.  It's time to pack and clean and pack some more.  So many details to work out, but we are up for it.  We are excited about it.

After many excuses...it's time! (Again)

Like most people I know, I have certain addictions.  Food in the form of cooking big dinners and fast food lunches with a few doughnut breakfasts and sodas all day long are my particular drug.  Why?  I mean, I don't feel great.  I don't look great.   I am tired and forgetful and it's no fun.  I have set out to adjust this issue many, many times.  I have won, to a certain degree, in earlier days.  However, I am most certainly losing the battle right now.  To a certain extent I am losing it by choice.  So, today, July 6, 2009, 39 days to my 36th birthday, possibly 27 days to a move to the other side of the country, I am setting some new goals.  

The first one is to eat clean.  The first step to that is actually cleaning out the various food portals in our home.  Make a plan and stick to it.

The second is to move.  Walk.  Dance with the kids.  Get to the gym.  MOVE HEATHER!

The third is to find motivation every day.  Small things.  Big things.  One ounce, one pound, one motivation after another until I find myself in the middle of a successful run at living a healthy, active life.

I have seen two of my sisters work incredibly hard at this and win.  They both look amazing.  Seeing it in them proves to me that I have it in me to do it as well and that any supposed failure is simply my efforts to avoid the work that I know I must do.  I have seen my neighbor Vicki lose what looks like 5o pounds, she looks incredible.  In all the time that I have watched these ladies win their battle, doughnut and coke in hand, I could have been doing the same.  Now, I didn't and that's ok.  NO BRUTALITY HERE.  There are a fair number of reasons to take better care of myself and my family.  I know them and respect them.  So, with my head held high and the motivation all around me, I am setting out to win every day.  I may not win every day, but I will overcome.  I want to be healthy...and dead sexy like my sisters, but who's counting!!!

July!

Hello all!  Well, a lot has happened around here lately.  Amber had her pretty baby.  June said good-bye.  July has stormed in with high temperatures.  Larry played, and worked of course, here for the last week.  

We took Kierstin's crib out of her room!

 

It was quite the event.  Last night was okay until about 2:30 in the morning when she clamored onto my bed with what seemed to be 28 stuffed animals.  (It was actually 9 or 10)  I stumbled my way behind her, up the stairs, tucked her in again and managed to get myself back into my bed without injury or further incident.  That was last night.  Tonight, I fear, will be different.  (you should be hearing spooky music right about now)

Independence Day is on for tomorrow and we will be partying all day.  We have a pancake breakfast bright and early at the church with a parade for the kiddos, a bike parade that is.  Kids at the pool.  Play-doh and Jenga.  Popsicles and ice cream.  Steaks on the grill.  Family all around.  Fireworks.  Fireworks.  Fireworks.

By way of update:  we still don't know about Vancouver.  We thought we knew, and then we didn't and now we are trying.  We both stepped back and agreed that we had to think in a preventative manner, meaning, a little more protective of our financial stability than adventurous and spontaneous.  I have my moments when I feel the tingle of "just go" or "everything will work out" and even "if it's meant to be it will be".  And then.  Literal, black and white, numbers on a page, reality sets in and we have to step back.  Tonight I am a little more optimistic than I was yesterday, but the night is still young.  We are looking at a couple of houses in the Birch Bay, WA area that are priced incredibly well for what we need.  We are finding ways to shave money off of the costs.  We are working on ways of raising some money as well.  A fundraiser that will either pay for a trek to the Pacific Northwest or a week at the beach.  I know which way Mom will go.  :)  

So, that's it.  Caught up.  Everyone remains healthy and well and only slightly on the nerves.  Swimming and movies and cooking are filling the days and I love it.